Staff shortages, recruiting the next generation of carers, resourcing from overseas – employment law within the residential care system can be a huge area for employers to navigate. In this article, Jessica Clough, chartered legal executive in Boyes Turner’s employment team, focuses on some of the fundamental areas for care sector employers.

Start with contracts

These are the foundation of the employment relationship. As a result, it is vital to make sure the contracts you provide to your staff:

• Convey the appropriate type of employment status. There are potentially serious employment law and tax implications for getting this wrong.
• Accurately reflect the hours the individual will be working in practice. Often there is a desire to express the employee’s contractual hours as vaguely as possible in the belief this will allow more flexibility, but it often leads to confusion or even a belief by the worker that hours of work are “negotiable”.
• Are sufficiently comprehensive for if things go wrong.
• Are provided on or by the first day of work.
• Include clauses making employment conditional on continuing to have the right to work in the UK and a satisfactory DBS check (if applicable).
• Are kept up to date throughout the employment relationship as status, hours, holiday entitlement and pay rates can change over time. Hours worked regularly will, over time, become contractual through custom and practice.

Right to work and visa compliance checks

Perhaps an obvious point, but right to...

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